Forage for knowledge of grass growth and educating school children about farming

Hannah: 00:00:00

Well, Andy and I were up till midnight last night.

Charlotte: 00:00:02

Is this safe booking podcast?

Martin: 00:00:07

Sorry, cut out. I heard King.

Hannah: 00:00:11

Booking our Yellowstone themed honeymoon.

Charlotte: 00:00:16

Oh, that's exciting.

Hannah: 00:00:19

Yeah, I'm gonna live out my Yellowstone Dutton Ranch fantasies in Wyoming.

Charlotte: 00:00:26

Are we sure that this is podcast friendly still?

Hannah: 00:00:30

Yeah, for anyone that's watched Yellowstone knows what goes down. We're slowly booking up our road trip around cowboy country.

Martin: 00:00:40

You're gonna be doing a bit of wrenching while you're out there.

Hannah: 00:00:43

Do you know what? We're actually looking at trying to book a day on horseback, but I don't know if we're being a bit ambitious. I've never sat on a horse.

Andy might have done when he was a kid.

Martin: 00:00:52

Donkeys on the beach don't count.

Hannah: 00:00:56

Blackpool. Yeah, no, I've not even done that. But we're, yeah, we're quite confident that an all day horseback adventure is a good idea.

Charlotte: 00:01:06

You might be confident now, but putting it mildly, your bum won't be at the end of it. You will be sore.

Hannah: 00:01:27

Hello, I'm Hannah Clarke.

Charlotte: 00:01:29

I'm Charlotte Forkes-Rees and welcome to The AG Show.

Hannah: 00:01:33

Coming up.

In this episode, we dive headfirst into the world of forage for knowledge to help you make the most of your farm's potential with grass growth and quality data.

Charlotte: 00:01:43

That's right. We'll hear from our AHDB colleague Emily Udall, who certainly knows her stuff.

Emily: 00:01:50

My favorite is the Forage first, which is basically a forage bible as I like to look at it.

There's a complete how to guide using a plate meter, updating agri Net, if that's the program you use, all the way through to managing spring rotation planners.

Hannah: 00:02:05

It may be the Easter holidays, but we're talking schools and education.

Charlotte: 00:02:10

Find out about the latest efforts to help bridge the knowledge gap between farm and fork.

Fiona: 00:02:15

There's a lot talked about the disconnect for young people and we know that's there. But what's not talked about is the level of interest and the want from these young people to engage.

Hannah: 00:02:26

A reminder for you lovely listeners, new episodes of the Ag show drop every Wednesday at midday. Available wherever you get your podcasts with.

Charlotte: 00:02:35

Audio and video versions for every show. Just subscribe to make sure you don't miss an episode and please get in touch. Reach out.

Hannah: 00:02:44

We'd love to hear from you, comment on any of our social posts or.

Charlotte: 00:02:47

Email agshowdb.org.uk well, speaking of feedback, Hannah, we had our first telephone call feedback, didn't we? This week, which came via Carl after His debut on the show a week or so ago.

Hannah: 00:03:04

That's right, yeah. Carl had a bit of an impromptu phone call from a farmer called Richard, who. Who basically said, we were doing a great job.

That is, you and me were doing a great job.

Charlotte: 00:03:16

Not producer Martin? No, definitely not him.

Hannah: 00:03:20

I think the reception might have been off because he would have definitely said. And also Carl and also Martin are doing great jobs too. But no, that was lovely feedback to get.

Charlotte: 00:03:32

Yeah. And just shows that it doesn't just have to be on socials or emails or any of the other platforms that you might listen to the show on.

If you want to get hold of us, find any music means to do so, we will take feedback. Good, bad, indifferent. We love to hear from you.

Hannah: 00:03:47

Yes. And Karl's rainwater segment also got some good pickup.

We had interest from the Environment Agency for some of their staff to go and visit the farms and to see the infrastructure and the projects being built. So that's really positive too.

Charlotte: 00:04:02

Be nice to see it rolled out across the country. I think this one was looking particularly at taking some of that insight back to Dorset. So watch out.

You might have rainwater kits making their way across the country, hopefully off the back of some of the insight that we've provided on the Ag Show.

Hannah: 00:04:19

Let's get on with the show, then.

And given where we are in the farming calendar, it's probably a good time to talk about Forage For Knowledge, which offers the latest research and advice on grass forage and soil management.

Charlotte: 00:04:30

Yeah. I caught up with Emily Udall from our Dairy Engagement team and she joined me recently to explain more.

Although producer Martin very much hijacked the very start of that interview in a bit to bring back one of his old favourites.

Martin: 00:04:49

Yes, Forage For Knowledge. It's gotta be a contender for this theme. Field agents, we've got Emily with us today. Agent Emily, welcome to the Ag Show.

Thank you very much for joining us. I'm going to start off with the quick and easy one. Break you in gently. F F ffk. What are we talking about?

Emily: 00:05:13

Hi, Martin. Very glad to be here. Ffk.

I think it's probably used an internal one, really, at ahdb, but it is Forage For Knowledge and that is a little project that I look after. It is a weekly newsletter that goes out in the grazing season.

We have contributors across the country, about 24 at the moment, that submit their grass growth figures and some fresh grass analysis samples and we collate all those and they go out in a weekly newsletter and that is Forage For Knowledge.

Martin: 00:05:45

Ffk. Very different to ffs. Onto another one. Afc.

Emily: 00:05:51

Yeah, that's something that might come up in Forage Knowledge afc. It's average farm cover, so probably will be known by a lot of the grazing farmers out there.

But if you didn't know, it is the average tonnes of dry matter on the grazing platform.

Martin: 00:06:06

Great stuff. We are rattling through these. This is brilliant. That's two acronyms cleared up. Here's a phrase. Magic Day. What we on about?

Emily: 00:06:14

Magic Day. It's one of my favourites. It's when grass growth matches the demand of livestock.

And in the UK it tends to be around the kind of beginning and mid of April, but obviously, like everything, it changes with the weather. But Magic Day, it's a good one. It's got a few different names, to be fair.

Martin: 00:06:34

That's three terms you've cleared up. If I had a badge, I would give you the first ever field agents badge, but it's not been designed yet. Maybe that's what somebody out there can do.

Agshowhdb.orguk. Charlotte, over to you. I think we've cleared up a few acronyms, etc.

Charlotte: 00:06:55

Yeah, I think I want to start, Emily, by saying I don't think this sounds like a very small project when you're introducing Forage for Knowledge. Small project that you look after because there's so many things that can go into it. So how do you decide what topics really deserve attention?

Emily: 00:07:10

Well, I think it does tend to click along like clockwork, really, which is quite nice. It's been going for a good few years and I think when it first started maybe was Piers Badenal, who supports it now with commentary.

Piers is a partial to profit consultant now at Cogent.

So we've got all the grass growth samples and analysis that come in on a weekly or grass growth come in on a weekly basis from our contributors around the country.

And then the analysis samples come in bi weekly and Piers looks at those every other week, as well as his own experience as a consultant out in the field and will give us some commentary which is really topical.

Obviously us Brits, we love talking about the weather and grass growth is really impacted by the weather, so there's always a lot of weather content as well, but also other topical kind of areas around input costs.

So, like at the moment, with the conflict in the Middle east, the price of fertilizer, there's been commentary around that as well, so it just tends to kind of tick along. But it is an enjoyable project and we've got quite a few subscribers to Newsletter.

Charlotte: 00:08:17

So yeah, one to look out for, I think for our listeners. Now you said that you've got 24 farms that are currently contributing. Whereabouts are they based?

Are they all over the country and what kind of data are they sending to you?

Emily: 00:08:30

Yes, all over the country, from Ayrshire to Wiltshire, Cornwall to Norfolk. Yeah. So all across. And England, Scotland and Wales. At the moment we actually do have a couple of gaps.

I think they're Staffordshire, Cumbria and Carmarthen just due to farms moving and situations changing. So if anyone is a very keen grass measurer, plate meterer and would be interested, then I would encourage them to get in touch.

And sometimes it's nice to have kind of people banked up if they're interested, if we take on more contributors in future. But yeah, like I say, it's fairly simple. The grass measurements.

So farmers are plate metering grass with a rising plate meter, submitting that on Agri net often or sometimes just send the data direct to us and then all the grass samples go through a lab and get forwarded on the analysis. I suppose that comes out of it. The key figures that we're quoting are dry matter, ME and crude protein.

Charlotte: 00:09:27

And we've got loads of content available, haven't we, in our knowledge library all around. A lot of the data that is collected from this. What are some of the most popular subjects that come up?

Emily: 00:09:37

Yeah, I think my favourite is the Forage first, which is basically a forage bible as I like to look at it. It's a really good guide available in hard copy and online. But there's a good PDF that's searchable which is really useful.

And anyone that may be staff that haven't necessarily measured grass before, there's a complete how to guide using a plate meter updating Agri Net, if that's the program you use, all the way through to managing spring rotation plan and even down to silage making silage and siling and self feed silage, that's something you do and feed management. So that's a firm favourite. And then coming out very soon.

Actually we've been working with the beef and lamb team as well on this is the sustainable Forages guide and that's all about herbal lays and multi species swards. Compared to Forage first would mostly focus on ryegrass and traditional rotational grazing systems.

So sustainable forages that will be out soon, which I think will be a really useful tool for people that are taking herbal lays on more and more with SFI agreements. In addition to that, we've actually worked with some Industry partners and basis to create an online basis classroom course on herbal lays.

And so the four modules are live for that now and levy payers can get 50% off the course cost. So if anyone is interested, that's just submit an application of interest and then we can share the code.

Charlotte: 00:11:07

So lots of resources that are available now, given the time of year that we're in, given that weather has been hugely changeable, particularly for me here in Gloucestershire and currently it's quite wet after having been exceptionally lovely. Are we currently in a bit of a season where it's spring, you're gonna blink and you miss it for grassland management?

Or is it, you know, there's more that can be coming through within this time of year and it's not just commentating on the weather.

Emily: 00:11:34

Oh, I think it feels like the last week it's been a little bit of a fall spring, some lovely days, but it's still quite damp underfoot. Hopefully it will come and we'll get a little bit more sunshine, sunshine soon.

But we have got some tools as well that look at rainfall, so that's quite useful to track.

But I do know some farmers, one of the contributors, actually, that measures rainfall religiously and has got rainfall data going back years and years, which is quite a nice comparison when you're looking at what's going on now and how that's impacting grass growth. So, yeah, I think we do talk about the weather quite a lot.

Charlotte: 00:12:12

I do in general too, to be fair.

Emily: 00:12:15

We're in Britain, like the weather could do anything, couldn't it?

Charlotte: 00:12:19

So over the next few months, we're definitely gonna be having more updates from you, aren't we? I think it's such an interesting topic to be talking about. What sort of things might we be able to expect from you?

Emily: 00:12:29

I'll be bringing the headline figures that we share, so the growth and dry matter, ME and protein of grass. So that's something that farmers can really look at and benchmark themselves against, kind of the national aver.

And also we've got a regional breakdown as well, down to counties, so that's what I'll be able to provide. And if people want more detail, then obviously signing up to forage for knowledge would be the best thing as well.

Charlotte: 00:12:55

I want to wrap this up, Emily, by asking you, do you have a favourite grass fact that you like to bring up at parties?

Emily: 00:13:01

Oh, I don't know if it's a good grass fact. I love the term magic day. I'm a horsey person and I'd say that Farmers love to say that horsey people are terrible at managing grass.

So I think that's quite a funny fact that I look after farmers for knowledge. I like to think maybe I do a better job with my horse. But it's unfortunate. There's always room to improve a little fact.

I guess for people that probably not farmers that don't know much about grass might be the kind of three leaf theory that grass or rye grass is kind of growing three leaves and then once it gets to its third leaf, the first one will start to die. So only ever three leaves.

Charlotte: 00:13:39

I think we'll have to get you back on to be talking all about the data from Forage for Knowledge and then a fact for Charlotte each week. So that would be great.

Emily: 00:13:47

We'll have you expert in no time. Thank you very much for having me. Love talking about grass.

Charlotte: 00:15:49

You're listening to the Ag show and now I think it's time for the news. Hannah, what have you been reading this week?

Hannah: 00:15:56

Well, I've been reading about crop conditions because despite one of the wettest winters on record, for many, the outlook for UK arable crops might actually not be as as many might expect.

rd March: 2026

Now drilling is well underway for many parts of the country.

Soils have drained better than expected, although I would say traveling conditions, my own experience are still quite var, and many growers are already onto their subsequent or second applications of nitrogen and fertiliser. Obviously people will be watching the rising costs of these inputs due to the Middle east conflict that we've talked about before.

But generally conditions seem to be slightly better.

There's still a few delays for planting in places like Yorkshire and the Northeast, but overall it seems like it's a more positive picture than many feared after such a soggy winter. More detail online will include a link to the report in the show notes.

Charlotte: 00:17:15

Nice that it's some kind of good news for once. Positive picture, absolutely. More positive than it could have been.

Hannah: 00:17:20

Definitely. And from cropping we go to something else that's keeping a lot of people busy at the moment on farm lambing.

Charlotte: 00:17:27

Yes, I have seen that sheep farmers from across the UK are being encouraged to take part in a new industry wide lambing survey and that's aimed at capturing the real press on farm this spring.

So the UK Lambing Survey: 2026

So we do know that farming is already one of the most intense time of the year for farmers and recent seasons have only piled on more pressure, which actually makes capturing solid real world data even more important than ever. So the nitty gritty survey takes approximately 12 minutes to complete.

Responses are anonymous and farmers with more than one flock are encouraged to submit multiple entries. So if you've got flocks with different, different tapping dates, just complete a survey per flock once the last ewe has lammed.

rdship commitments through to: 2020

So if you're lambing this season, definitely recommend that you take part because with all things, the greater the response, the stronger the evidence will be to help base your future decisions on. So we'll make sure that that survey is linked in our show notes.

For the rest of the show, we wanted to throw the spotlight on education and the efforts of the farming industry to improve understanding of what's involved producing food. Last month, AHDB joined forces with environment and farming charity Leaf to host a couple of conferences for secondary schools.

Hannah: 00:19:49

Trudy Gorham's a teacher at Beaumont School in St Albans.

She took her A level students to the Sustainability Conference because she wanted them to be aware of the challenges and opportunities around sustainable farming.

Trudy: 00:20:01

This one, I think, is an important one for young people because they've been lumbered with the climate crisis from previous generations and I think from a climate anxiety perspective, if they feel like this is a problem with no solutions, they're not going to want to engage.

And I think any opportunity like today to show action and give them the opportunity to think about impacts they can make in their own life means it's more likely something that's going to stick rather than just this is all doom and gloom, there's nothing we can do, there's agency there for them to take change and I think that can then inspire their peers and as well, because they're taking it beyond, I say beyond just their learning and into their own lives.

Hannah: 00:20:39

Trudy. And it's always a bit weird to call teachers by their first name, isn't it?

But Trudy feels the farming industry has a collective responsibility to tackle environmental challenges.

Trudy: 00:20:49

So it's not a case of we're just going to focus on soil fertility and we're just going to focus on pest management.

It's a case of the farm and the food industry as a whole affects everyone and affects everyone's choices and so everyone should be involved and everyone should be talking to each other. And I think that just came across, say, every workshop, although. Although it focused on something different.

There was, like I said, this thread that run through all of this cohesiveness behind approaching sustainable food.

And I think the more we start to see this as a big picture rather than just lots of little problems, you can kind of see it as potentially easily solvable because if you do one good thing here and all these people are talking to each other, then it can ripple out and seem more positive change wider. So it was nice to see everyone felt on the same page, I think, today.

And all had the same aims or the same outcomes to work together, which was really nice. It was a nice vibe.

Charlotte: 00:21:36

That's Trudy Gorham, science teacher from Hertfordshire. And we'll continue those good vibes around education in just a moment.

Hannah: 00:23:16

You're listening to the Action with Hannah, Charlotte and of course, producer Martin. And we've just been hearing from a science teacher about the benefits of educating school children about sustainable farming.

Joining us now for discussion is AHDB's head of retail and Education Partnerships, Ros Reynolds and Fiona Rust, Leif's Education Networks and Partnerships lead. Ros and Fiona, welcome to the Ag Show. We're so pleased to have you with us today. Now, Ross, we know quite a bit about hdb, or at least I hope we do.

But Fiona, could you give us and our listeners a bit of a background on leaf?

Fiona: 00:23:52

Hi. Yeah, thank you so much, Hannah, for welcome. So I work at LEAF for anyone doesn't know, that stands for Linking Environment and Farming.

We were established in: 1991

We're a leading global charity that promotes and supports more sustainable farming to create a more resilient food and farming system for our future generations. So we work with farmers both in the UK and globally to support of transition to more sustainable food production.

You might recognize us from the leafmark logo, which you'll find in a lot of UK Supermarkets predominantly on fresh produce, but we also work in research as well, supporting research into practice on farm. And a lot of my work is engaging young people and wider society in sustainable farming and where they have a role to play in that as well.

Hannah: 00:24:39

I think that point around engaging young people is so important and that's what we're sort of talking a bit more about today. Ros, could you give us a bit more background on the partnership that we as HDB have with Leif?

Roz: 00:24:52

So we've been working together, I think for the past kind of. Is it three years, Fiona?

Fiona: 00:24:56

Three or four years, isn't it?

Roz: 00:24:58

And really where we've got that kind of aligned kind of ambitions and objectives around connecting children and young people with food and farming. And we do that in a number of ways.

But one of the kind of activities that kind of front of our mind because last week we delivered our first A level conference.

So that we did that at Rothamstead and we had 125 A level students come and join us there and really be able to kind of explore what sustainable food and farming is and what it means to them both as consumers of the future, but also thinking about careers, but also that they will be the decision makers of the future as well.

So it was a great event and it was just so fantastic to see the curiosity and engagement from the students and a real opportunity to kind of for them to speak directly to, to farmers and other industry professionals as well.

Hannah: 00:25:53

That's really encouraging to me to hear that the students were really engaged because I think we hear a lot about, you know, maybe a lot of children these days maybe are less connected to where their food comes from. So events like this are obviously really, really crucial to build that knowledge base and that connection back up.

You know, were the students asking lots of difficult questions? Were there any key sort of discussion points from the day? I'd be really interested to know.

Roz: 00:26:16

Yeah. So the overall event was really around kind of exploring why sustainability matters in food and farming.

And as part of the day we had a panel discussion. So it was really kind of a proper kind of industry level kind of conference.

And that was kind of exploring whether feeding the world will cost the earth. And actually as part of that, all the students had an opportunity to pose questions.

So some of those were around the role of technology in sustainable food and farming, others was around what role that they can play in part of the decisions that they themselves can make.

So there was some really great and really kind of thought provoking questions which I think, Fiona, you'll agree was actually challenging for some of the people on the panel, actually. So it was really that kind of level of conversation and really wanted to get into the detail.

Fiona: 00:27:03

And I think there's a lot talked about the disconnect for young people, and we know that's there, but what's not talked about is the level of interest and the want from these young people to engage.

And I know we kind of asked the teachers beforehand in terms of why they wanted to bring their students along to this event and other events that we've run with hdb, and it's that they want them to be able to engage with our industry and they want them to see what's going on. And I think what's come back from the students is how much they enjoyed talking to those industry professionals.

So we had not only members of the LEAF team and the HDB team, but we had a number of other organizations there as well, including Rothamstead Research, which was where we hosted it. And actually the feedback from those exhibitors is that the students were so engaged, and we asked the exhibitors what surprised them on the day.

And the things that come back, in fact, from all of the events that we've run is it was unexpected, the level of engagement and the amount of curiosity and the ability of these young people to kind of put that knowledge together and to ask really thoughtful, analytical questions. So I think it's not that they don't want to. It's that they want to engage but don't always know how to.

And actually these opportunities are providing that chance for those young people to do that. And that is why it is just so important that these kind of partnerships are in place and can provide these opportunities for those young people.

And in fact, 89% of them have come back in the evaluation saying that as an impact, kind of, or an outcome of this event, they want to learn more now, as a result, which I think is just really heartwarming and really positive for the industry. And we need to do something with this and continue this into the future.

Charlotte: 00:28:37

So you touched on it there that obviously it's been really successful working alongside HDB with this LEAF partnership as well. You know, what is it that you think makes it work so well?

Roz: 00:28:47

Fiona and the team at LEAF actually have a team on the ground, which we don't, in our education team. So I should say so in education, alongside myself is also my colleague, Elsa Healy. So we're quite a small team.

And actually then working with the Leif team actually means that we've Got that kind of wider coverage at a regional level.

So I think what's also been great about working with the Leif team is actually we've taken some of the content that we perhaps use on a day to day basis in AAHDB and actually be able to kind of repackage that for students. So last year we developed a series of A level resources around sustainability.

So whether it be for biology or business studies or environmental studies, that actually those resources.

So for example, we've got resources on soil health, on kind of genetic selection in the beef sector and actually it's taking those resources and making them kind of applicable for A level students. And that's been a real kind of success. And I say that's an example of where we're bringing together kind of the strength of both teams.

Fiona: 00:29:53

ROS has touched on the resources and kind of. There's more of those coming this year.

We're developing resources for farmers to deliver on farm that will match up to those teacher resources and there'll be some videos coming with those as well. But I think it's using those. Yeah, both those expertise and the skill of the specialists that are on both sides of the team as well.

And it's really nice to have that close working partnership to extend the impact of what both organisations can do as well.

Charlotte: 00:30:18

And it isn't just conferences that you put on together, is it? We also work together to get children on farm.

So what are the kind of things that you aim to get across to them when they first come on farm and what are the real key aims of those days?

Roz: 00:30:33

Yeah, so we've been running an initiative around School Farm Visit support programs. So that's really designed for farmers who are interested in getting young people actually out on their farm.

The School Farm Visit support program is really about bringing together a package to give farmers the knowledge, know how and skills to be able to do that. Because we understand it can be a bit kind of daunting that we know that some farmers, you know, real appetite in terms of.

And Fiona's talked about it in terms of that connection with young people and being able to give them a real life experience of a farm.

You know, many children, you know, might not have the opportunity to visit a farm, but as I say, it's them being giving out the kind of the tools and know how. So at the centre of that is CVAS training. So that stands for Countryside Educational Visits Accreditation Scheme.

So it's an accredited scheme and at the end of the course then you can get that accreditation, which is often recommended, recognised by schools and is seen really as something really positive to then be able to go on farm.

Because what's covered as part of that training is how farmer might be able to connect with a school, also in terms of how you might be able to connect with the curriculum, but also kind of the health and safety aspects, because I say can be a bit daunting, but actually all that training provides that knowledge so you can feel really confident kind of delivering a school visit.

Fiona: 00:31:53

And I think we've touched on the sustainability conference, but we also ran a Focus on Farming event down in Cornwall at the beginning of March and that was an opportunity where we had about 120 Year 9 and Year 10 students on a bee farm down in Cornwall.

And again, the opportunity to just get young people out on farm, but not only to walk around the farm and see what they're doing and understand their farming practices, but also to meet wide industry connected to that farm as well. And I think again, that's huge strength in those partnerships of showcasing not just.

Just that there's things going on that farm, but within that wide industry piece as well.

In terms of when we're talking about sustainability, it is right the way through that chain of people that it's really important that young people see that, that sustainability is happening as well.

Hannah: 00:32:34

We've talked about, I guess, the enthusiasm of students with getting involved in farming and understanding where food comes from. What's the reception kind of been from teachers and those delivering these sessions. Is there appetite for. From those to be involved?

Fiona: 00:32:49

Yeah, absolutely. And I think across the board we have 100% recommendation from exhibitors and from teachers that they would tell other people to get involved.

So that's fantastic. Yeah, I think from a teacher's. Absolutely. They can see that value in students being able to apply their classroom learning to real world experiences.

And we all know how broad food and farming is and how much learning can happen through that.

So they are desperate for these opportunities, these students to be able to come out and actually see it in person, to meet those industry professionals and for the students to be able to ask their own questions as well. And I think we recognise obviously how important sustainable farming practices are.

But for students, that's quite a long way kind of down the line of things. But actually they are so engaged in the kind of sustainability as a whole and what that means for them and their generation.

And I think one of the teachers said that they wanted their students to understand that the word sustainability is not just throwaway, it's happening now. And it's also for the future development too, so they want to give them those experiences, which is huge.

And in fact we were oversubscribed by schools for both events that we've run in the last month. So again I think that shows that the demand is out there.

Roz: 00:33:57

So actually we've got another conference planned, so another Focus on Farming event which will be taking place on a farm near Milton Mowbray and that's at the end of June and that's actually for primary school students. So we try and cover kind of the breadth. So yes, as I say, focusing on primary school but still giving that kind of hands on experience.

So we're really excited for, for that.

Hannah: 00:34:20

And if there's any farmers or teachers or schools or pupils listening that might want to get involved in this, where can we signpost everyone to?

Roz: 00:34:29

We have got a number of kind of resources, so both on our own website, so ahdb.orguk where you can come and order resources. So we've got posters, we've got activity sheets and we've got stickers.

But also a great resource that both Leif and ourselves work on is Countryside Classroom, which is a one stop shop for anything, food, farming and the natural environment. And on there you can look where there might be a farm near you that you can visit. So that's great for teachers.

But equally as a farmer, if you want to promote and talk about what visits you might be able to offer, and the A level resources that we've developed jointly are actually available on Countryside Classroom.

Fiona: 00:35:09

Cool. So it would be a good moment to mention it's open Farm Sunday's 20th anniversary this year as well.

And so obviously that's coming up on the 7th of June this year. So if farmers are interested in hosting, that would be a really good kind of first step forward.

If you sign up for Open Farm Sunday, there is so much support available, resources available from HDB and other sponsors as well.

And it doesn't matter how big that visit is, it could be a farm walk for five people or it could be, you know, a whole open day for 250 people, it really doesn't matter.

But it's just that step towards possibly hosting schools in the visit, but getting people out on farm and giving them that opportunity to talk to the people that are in it every day. And coming back to that passion we know from the visitor surveys, people love hearing stories on farm and what goes on.

So that would be another great place for resources. But ultimately, hopefully people consider opening their farms for Open Farm Sunday this year.

Charlotte: 00:36:04

Well, massive thank you to both Ros and Fiona for joining us.

It sounds like such incredible and interesting work that we are doing together as HDB and Leaf, but I think that is all that we have time for on the show today. Been a real talk around the around the shop, hasn't it, Hannah?

Hannah: 00:36:22

Yeah, it's been a real theme of learning, hasn't it? This episode we've had Forage for Knowledge, we've talked about education of students around food and farming. So it's been a school day and.

Charlotte: 00:36:33

You got to call your teacher by their first name. So it's been a great day for everyone.

Hannah: 00:36:39

See you next week.

Charlotte: 00:36:40

By.

Hannah: 00:36:46

Sam.